Police were last night desperately searching for a young disabled man incapable of looking after himself, after his mother was found dead in undergrowth near the family home.

A search was launched after Heather Wardle, 39, and her son James Hughes, who is 22 but has the mental age of a small child, were reported missing at the weekend. Teenagers found Wardle's body a five-minute walk from her home in Redditch, Worcestershire, but there was no sign of Hughes, who struggles to walk by himself, has epilepsy and needs medication.

Police appealed for anyone who had seen him to come forward and were also trying to piece together details of the family's life in the weeks and days leading up to the pair's disappearance. Officers said Wardle had been under huge pressure.

Superintendent Jane Horwood said: "Heather was James's main carer and her family tell us she was a fantastic mother. However looking after another person - however much that person is loved - round the clock inevitably takes its toll and we can only imagine what tremendous strain Heather was under."

Wardle, who has three other sons aged six, eight and 18, was last seen by a family member at 6pm last Friday, when she said she was going out to visit a friend. But it is not clear when Hughes was last seen. Police said Wardle's death was being treated as "unexplained".

Horwood said: "We are trying to find out more about both Heather and James's movements over the last few months. We are trying to put together a picture of their lives and we want to hear from anyone who knew either of them. He [Hughes] needs his most basic needs met and cannot fend for himself. We have no idea where he is and, while we are keeping an open mind, obviously we are very concerned."

Hughes' natural father, Paul Hughes, 41, a company director who did not live with Wardle, said: "We are all still desperately trying to find James at the moment - I am on tenterhooks and sick with worry. He is a very vulnerable lad. We are all in bits and praying he is safe." He said Wardle was "an absolutely amazing mother and must have been in a very dark place".

Neighbours said Wardle had been acting strangely in recent weeks. Sara Hay, 32, said: "She didn't look her normal self on Friday afternoon, she just looked fed up. She's not the type of person to just walk off and leave her other children, because she dotes on her kids." Lyn Parkes, 48, said: "Poor James can barely walk on his own, so she must have had someone else helping her. It was her who kept the family going." Hughes is described as white, 5ft 4in and slim, with short mousy hair. Police said he looks younger than his age and, although he can walk short distances, he "tends to stumble" so uses a wheelchair.